Monday, April 24, 2017

SYNC: Audiobooks for Teens returns for another summer with a fantastic line up of YA titles -- all for FREE! If you haven't already done so, set up an account with your email and every week you'll be notified about the release of two, theme-based pair of books that you can download for free. And keep forever. I think the selection looks amazing. Enjoy!

Monday, April 10, 2017

As is Steve Jenkins’ typical MO (and stated in the title)
this book is all about the animal world that he finds fascinating, giving us
tons of statistical information as infographics. I keep waiting to have that ‘been
there, done that’ feeling when Jenkins comes out with a new book but it's yet to
come. He continues to find fresh ways to introduce us to the endlessly
fascinating natural world.

And what’s not to be enthralled by?

Whether he’s looking at the big picture (invertebrates vs
vertebrates or the number of species such as 5,500 mammals vs 1 million species
of insects) or the finer details (size, speed, life spans, heartbeats, tongue
size, amount of sleep) he presents the numbers in captivating graphs and charts.
And when you’re a math-a-phob like me, that says a lot.

Steve Jenkins has an amazing ability to capture and hold the
interest of his readers by looking at ranges of animals, comparing and
contrasting characteristics and behaviours that illustrate just how nuanced,
varied and adaptive the animal kingdom is. Comparing humans in some cases certainly
may put us in our place. Compare the biomass of all the humans in the world,
350 million tons to that of all insects, 100 billion tons and you can see what
I mean.

The illustrations are composed of paper cut outs and paired
with various types of pie, flow and bar charts, histograms, pictograms and
graphs. These representations are clear and easy to understand. He finds ways to make each topic relatable to
basic knowledge levels. For instance when comparing the loudness level between
species he includes noises produced by humans too such as those from lawn
mowers, chainsaws, firetrucks or jet planes. Did you know that a cicada produces the same level as noise as a firetruck? Or, that a bulldog bat makes a sound that falls
in the same range as a jet plane?

I highly recommend this addition to Steve
Jenkins' body of work for any classroom.
Those interested in animals and nature will be captivated

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.